For all control systems in a vehicle with which the vehicle driver interacts, it is fundamental to attempt to carry out what the driver requests in a manner that it is believed the driver desires. Vehicle refers in this context to, for example, a goods vehicle, semi, platform truck, carrier vehicle, truck, motor home, pickup, van, personal vehicle, emergency vehicle, watercraft, minivan, four-wheeler, scooter, excavator, car, crane truck, tanker truck, motorcycle, wheel loader, moped, scooter, limousine, sports car, racing car, bumper car, dragster, ride-on lawnmower, tank, snowmobile, snow-cat, all-terrain vehicle, tracked vehicle, tractor, go-cart, bus, combine harvester, agricultural machine or similarly motor-driven manned or unmanned mode of conveyance, adapted for land-based geographical movement.
Platooning is a collective term for methods in which one has a plurality of vehicles on a road drive in locked groups with minimal or reduced distances between the vehicles in order to reduce fuel consumption and increase the transport capacity of the highway system.
Vehicles in the vehicle convoy can be connected to one another by means of electronic systems that communicate via radio links between the vehicles and the outside world, although various types of mechanical links between the vehicles are also conceivable. A synchronized vehicle convoy moves as a unit wherein the driver of one of the vehicles, normally the driver in the first vehicle, sets the pace for the entire convoy. The distance between the vehicles can be determined by means of sensors that are based on, for example, radar. The vehicles that are included in the vehicle convoy can thereby accelerate and/or brake simultaneously while still maintaining the same distance between the included vehicles.
Individual vehicles with platooning support can join or leave the vehicle convoy whenever so necessitated by their individual transport tasks.
Lower fuel consumption is achieved hereby in that the vehicles that are following the first vehicle encounter reduced air resistance. Reduced fuel consumption leads in turn to lower shipping costs and reduced environmental emissions. Yet another advantage is that it is possible to increase the capacity of the highway system by packing the vehicles more tightly together in the coordinated vehicle convoys while maintaining or possibly even increasing traffic safety. Increased transport capacity can contribute to reduced traffic backups and thus shorter transport times.
Additional advantages of vehicle convoys can consist in that new operating mechanisms can be applied, such as electrical driving by means of wires, guide tracks in the roadway or the like.
One problem with platooning is that the lead vehicle of the vehicle convoy with its driver is assigned a decisive function in leading the convoy in a safe manner. If, for any reason, this driver experiences panic, heavy stress, sudden illness or is unable for some other biological reason to perform his duties as the leader, the consequence can be that the safety of the entire vehicle convoy and its surroundings will be threatened.
Yet another problem is that even though platooning does not, in theory, require the vehicle drivers other than the leader of the vehicle convoy to be active, there is a moment when the automation is coupled in and out as the individual vehicle joins or leaves the vehicle convoy. Manual activity can be required on the part of the driver of the affected vehicle at such moments, which can threaten the safety of the entire vehicle convoy. In panic situations, the drivers in each individual vehicle can thus also threaten the safety of the vehicle convoy and its surroundings as they join or leave the vehicle convoy.
Furthermore, certain control systems for vehicle convoys are adapted so as to be regulated by the lead vehicle by interpreting the regulating adjustments made by the driver in terms of, for example, velocity or acceleration, including by reading the speed with which the driver changes the position of the gas pedal and/or the position of the brake pedal in different directions in order to gain an idea of the behavior that the driver desires of the vehicle convoy. This generally works well as long as the driver in the lead vehicle is in a harmonious state and/or is acting rationally; see FIG. 1A.
However, one problem with the aforedescribed vehicle convoy is its heavy dependency on appropriate behavior on the part of the lead vehicle of the convoy and its driver. A driver in a traffic environment is unfortunately often subjected to stressful traffic situations and does not always behave rationally; see FIG. 1B. For example, the driver can be stuck in a backup in rush hour traffic, while at the same time having an appointment to keep, or be affected emotionally by perceived or actual deficiencies in the driving by other drivers of their respective vehicles, which can trigger at least temporary irrational driver behavior.
Control systems for vehicle convoys are adapted for rational behavior by the drivers in the vehicles that are included in the vehicle convoy. As a result, the vehicle convoy may behave irrationally if/when the lead driver behaves irrationally, which can threaten the safety of all the vehicles in the vehicle convoy as well as that of other drivers on the road.
It is likely that a driver who is troubled by stress, irritation, anger and/or frustration (see FIG. 1B) may amplify the signals that the control system for the vehicle convoy is attempting to interpret, for example by rapidly switching between full depression of the gas pedal and no depression at all, and then full depression again. Such gas pedal fluctuations can, as a result of interpretation problems and possible time delays, cause the control system to react in opposition to what the driver actually wants, i.e. that the clutch may release when the driver actually wants to drive forward and/or vice versa. The result can be that the vehicles in the vehicle convoy lose pulling force when the driver in the lead vehicle actually wants to increase the pulling force in the stressful situation. This behavior can further result in increased fuel consumption and thus increased environmental impact, but it can also result in increased wear to the vehicles included in the vehicle convoy or components thereof, such as the clutch and/or driveshaft, unnecessary/superfluous gear shifting, or an accident.
It can be shown that drivers, and perhaps in particular professional drivers, are often subjected to situational stress. A driver of a lead vehicle in a vehicle convoy who is driving irrationally risks causing damage to the vehicle, other vehicles in the vehicle convoy and/or other drivers on the road, above and beyond the potential personal suffering that may result.